Category Archives: Victorian politics

Victorian Liberal leader ‘surprised’ deputy secretly recorded meeting with Moira Deeming, defamation trial hears

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Opposition leader John Pesutto cross-examined in federal court case brought against him by ousted Liberal MP

Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, says he was “surprised” his deputy had secretly recorded a meeting held between the Liberal party’s leadership team and MP Moira Deeming a day after she spoke at a Melbourne rally in 2023, the federal court has heard.

Pesutto began giving evidence in the defamation trial brought against him in the federal court on Tuesday afternoon.

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Moira Deeming kept ‘Liberal party mentor’ Peta Credlin in the loop ‘at all times’ amid Nazi stoush, court hears

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Trial shown messages between MP and Sky News host discussing defamation action against Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto

Moira Deeming viewed the Sky News host Peta Credlin as a Liberal party “mentor” when the pair liaised after the MP was ousted by the Victorian party last year, the federal court has heard.

Deeming is suing the Victorian Liberal leader, John Pesutto, for allegedly falsely portraying her as a Nazi sympathiser after she helped organise and spoke at the “Let Women Speak” rally on 18 March 2023 which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis. She was expelled from the party less than two months later after initially being suspended in the days after the rally.

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Moira Deeming agrees her trans and gender-diverse views are ‘controversial’ as cross-examination begins

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Expelled Liberal MP testifies in high-stakes defamation case against Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto

Ousted Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming agreed her views on transgender and gender-diverse people were “controversial” within the party, as she began giving evidence in a high-stakes defamation battle.

Deeming is suing the state Liberal leader, John Pesutto, for allegedly falsely portraying her as a Nazi sympathiser after she spoke at the March 2023 “Let Women Speak” rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis. She was expelled from the party less than two months later after initially being suspended.

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Labor will have itself to blame if it loses western Sydney over Gaza issue, says Muslim Vote convener

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Wesam Charkawi says Albanese’s party has ‘created this movement through their decisions’ as pro-Palestine communities feel Labor has failed them

A new Muslim political movement backing independent candidates says Labor will have itself to blame if Peter Dutton wins the next election, and that people should not assume the candidates they support will preference Labor.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, one of the conveners behind the Muslim Vote movement, said the group would be aiming to support “at least five candidates” in New South Wales and Victoria.

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Melbourne’s e-scooter wars escalate as neighbouring councils unite in support after city centre ban

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Merri-Bek, Darebin and Moonee Valley mayors back e-scooter hire schemes after Melbourne city council ejects the vehicles from the CBD

Victoria’s e-scooters wars have ramped up, with mayors in Melbourne’s north uniting to back e-scooter hire schemes after the mayor banned them from operating in the inner city.

The mayor, Nicholas Reece, succeeded in banning the rentals in the city council area, arguing the e-scooters presented an unacceptable safety risk and that Melbourne’s city needed a reset.

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‘Betrayal’: Indigenous and legal groups condemn Victoria’s backflip on raising the age

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Jacinta Allan says age of criminal responsibility won’t be raised to 14 amid concern about youth crime

Indigenous organisations, legal experts and human rights groups have condemned the Victorian government’s decision to abandon plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14, describing it as a “betrayal” of vulnerable children.

As revealed by Guardian Australia, the premier, Jacinta Allan, made the major policy reversal on Tuesday, as she announced several changes to the government’s 1,000-page youth justice bill.

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Victorian government rejects expert advice to forcibly merge hospital services

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Premier Jacinta Allan says reduction of 76 services to 11 ‘not in the best interests of patient care’ despite lure of reduced costs

The Victorian government will ignore a central recommendation of an expert panel to forcibly merge hospital services – which was expected to improve patient care and reduce costs – but has vowed to find savings in other ways.

The premier, Jacinta Allan, and health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, on Thursday released a long-awaited report on the Victoria’s public health system.

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Failure to learn from ‘African gangs’ furore puts community at risk, Victoria’s children’s commissioner says

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Amid claims of a growing crime wave, Liana Buchanan says the government must work harder to identify the causes of offending

The Victorian commissioner for children and young people says African-Australian youth are again the subject of “intense” media and police focus as the state responds to perceptions of a crime wave without working harder to identify the causes of offending.

Liana Buchanan, the principal commissioner of Victoria’s Commission for Children and Young People, said she was concerned that it did not appear any lessons had been learned from the “African gangs” furore, and implored the state government, police and the youth justice system not to respond in ways that would make the community less safe.

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Damage from catastrophic Victorian floods ‘exacerbated’ by bad decisions and systemic failures, inquiry reveals

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Preparations, emergency warnings and recovery grants found lacking following long-running investigation into 2022 disaster

A major investigation into catastrophic floods reveals confusion about preparations, failures in emergency warnings and clunky access to recovery grants.

Flood waters lashed Victoria in October 2022, displacing thousands of residents and destroying hundreds of homes.

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Coalition has ‘a real chance’ to oust Labor government at next election, Peter Dutton tells party faithful

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Opposition leader receives hero’s welcome at Victorian Liberal state council, talking up Coalition’s prospects for upcoming federal election

Peter Dutton has blasted the beleaguered CFMEU and identity politics as the opposition leader rallies Liberal Party faithful ahead of the federal election.

In a wide-ranging speech at the Victorian Liberal state council on Saturday, Dutton went on the offensive and laid out an alternative vision for Australia during difficult times.

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‘Million dollar views, baby’: Victorian minister praises train station’s ‘fantastic’ Dandenongs vista

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On a morning when the Dandenong Ranges were largely obscured by clouds, Danny Pearson says ‘lots of caffeine’ was driving his enthusiasm

According to Victoria’s transport infrastructure minister, this is a train station with “million dollar views, baby”.

At a press conference on a cloudy Friday morning, Danny Pearson was ebullient in his praise for the views commanded by the new elevated platform at Croydon – to the point that his enthusiasm itself was questioned by reporters.

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Victoria to trial pill testing as a ‘commonsense way to save lives’, Jacinta Allan says

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Premier announces state will trial pill testing during summer festival season, saying evidence shows it ‘works’

Victoria will trial pill testing this summer, the premier Jacinta Allan has announced, after a spate of drug overdoses at festivals in the first quarter of 2024.

Allan announced via an Instagram post on Monday night that the move was a “simple and commonsense way to save lives”.

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Victoria signed MoU with Israeli defence ministry to share ‘opportunities’ from ‘global tensions’

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The 2022 agreement intended to foster trade relations and ‘support greater collaboration on defence industry objectives’, documents reveal

The Victorian government quietly signed an agreement with Israel’s defence ministry to capitalise on “global tensions” and countries wanting to “protect their national interests” militarily, internal documents reveal.

The 2022 Memorandum of Understanding, signed before the Israel-Gaza war, was intended to foster trade relations and “support greater collaboration on defence industry objectives”, according to Victorian government documents released under freedom of information laws.

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Bacchus Marsh Grammar: Victorian premier blasts ‘disgraceful’ conduct after AI fake nude photo allegations

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Jacinta Allan says no place for ‘misogynistic conduct’ as police investigate allegations fake nude images of students circulated online

Victoria’s premier has said there is no place for “misogynistic conduct” in the state following allegations deepfakes depicting about 50 female students from a private school in regional Victoria were circulated online.

Police are investigating the “incredibly graphic” nude images which appeared to have been created using artificial intelligence and photos of the girls’ faces taken from social media sites, and then circulated online.

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Child protection department preparing for ‘likely transfer’ of powers to Indigenous Victorians under treaty

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Department expects ‘extensive’ changes to result from state government’s negotiations with First Peoples’ Assembly later this year, documents say

The Victorian department responsible for child protection and housing is preparing for a “likely transfer” of powers to First Nations groups as a result of treaties that will soon be negotiated with the government.

The Department of Fairness, Families and Housing (DFFH) is looking for an organisation to provide training to staff to “increase readiness for treaty”, according to tender documents seen by Guardian Australia.

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Landowners whose views are spoiled by power lines could receive $40,000 under Victorian plan

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Scheme would collect funds from power companies to pay communities affected by new transmission lines

Victorian landowners whose views are spoiled by new power transmission lines on neighbouring properties could receive one-off compensation payments of up to $40,000 under a plan being considered by the state government.

The new transmission planning agency, VicGrid, has opened consultation on a scheme that would collect funds from power companies to pay communities affected by new transmission lines.

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Ballarat to be ‘saturated’ with ads in bid to stop violence against women after spate of deaths

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Victorian premier Jacinta Allan announces Australia’s first ‘saturation model’ after family violence prevention package unveiled

Ballarat will be “saturated” in messaging to change the attitudes that drive violence against women in the wake of three killings.

Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, announced Australia’s first “saturation model” to prevent the increasing scourge of domestic violence on Friday. It would include a widespread advertising campaign and the use of “influencers”, and was pitched as a four-year model to be tested in the regional city before being scaled up across the state.

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Labor rank and file tell Victorian government to ‘get serious’ on long-delayed airport rail

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Rail, Tram and Bus Union’s Vik Sharma says Melbourne’s lack of airport train line is a global embarrassment

Rank and file Victorian Labor members have piled pressure on the state government to “get serious” on building a train line to Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport.

A motion to get the city’s stalled airport rail link project back on track was unanimously passed by party members and unionists at the Victorian Labor state conference on Sunday.

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Victorian premier accuses pro-Palestine protesters of bringing ‘violence, homophobia and antisemitism’ to Labor conference

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Six motions calling for end to Israel-Gaza conflict carried after Jacinta Allan says she is ‘disgusted’ by behaviour of protesters at Labor state conference

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has accused pro-Palestinian protesters of bringing “violence, homophobia and antisemitism to the front door of state conference”.

On Saturday morning, ahead of speeches by Allan and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, a group of protesters entered the Moonee Valley Racecourse building and began chanting outside the conference room filled with MPs, unionist and other rank-and-file members.

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Customer-facing workers ‘should not have to work in fear’, Victorian premier says, announcing plans for tougher laws

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Jacinta Allan proposes stronger penalties for people who assault, threaten or intimidate retail, hospitality, and other workers

Jacinta Allan has used her first Labor state conference as Victorian premier to announce plans to change the law to better protect retail, hospitality and other customer-facing workers from abuse and assault amid reports of a surge in violence.

In her speech to party faithful at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Saturday, Allan detailed plans to introduce tougher penalties for people who assault, threaten or intimidate workers.

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